My icon text changes color automatically

Closed
Robin - May 22, 2009 at 03:41 AM
 Pat - Sep 9, 2009 at 07:29 AM
Hello,

After Windows on my laptop warned that a system file was deleted, some of my icon titles and text changed from black to blue. System Restore does not change this. What file do I need? I don't have the Windows XP disk to affect repairs. Windows didn't tell me what file was deleted. I have a second computer, so could I copy the deleted file from that computer?

Please Help,
Robin
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3 responses

Thanks for taking interest,

I had Windows XP SP2. Your message prompted me to download SP3. It's installation didn't solve the problem, which only appears if I open a file of program shortcuts and during a Search. I've chosen black in Display, but some of the icon names come out light blue. Not all of the icon names change color. I've tried changing in Display to dark blue, but it applies itself only to the icon names that were black. I was using MS Cleanup Manager when Windows gave me a message that a system file had been deleted that might affect Windows function. So far, this is the first affect I've encountered.

Do you have any suggestions?
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honeyho3 Posts 11 Registration date Tuesday March 18, 2008 Status Member Last seen May 29, 2009 2
May 22, 2009 at 03:50 AM
do you have service pack 2 or service pack 3 installed?
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This has happened on at least two computers I've owned that were running Windows XP and just recently started happening on my laptop. It seems to happen when Windows is "getting old" (in this case, I purchased my laptop 25 months ago). I haven't found any way to fix the problem, but it doesn't seem to affect the way my computer is running (or any of the previous systems to which it has happened). It's more of a minor annoyance to me at this point, but if you find a solution, I'd love to hear it.
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Obi-Wan Robin
Sep 9, 2009 at 12:39 AM
Dear Path,

The best answer I've read is that the icon text changes from black to blue when files and programs are compressed. I am formatted with NTFS, which compresses automatically. When you run the old Disk Clean, it cleans "old compressed files". This combination results in the blue text of some icons. It's nothing to worry about, so, like you, I've learned to live with it. The phenomenon seems to continue to grow, so, pretty soon ALL my files will have blue titles, so people will think I set it up that way! Hey, blue is beautiful! If you want it all now, just use the control panel DISPLAY to change icon text color to matching blue. At least I know that NTFS is working as it should, compressing files that are not often use and saving space on my hard drive. By the way, the change started happen first on my laptop because it was the first of my computers I had re-formatted in NTFS. So, the blue is just to let you know that that file or program is compressed. ALL IS WELL.

With Love,
Obi-Wan
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Pat > Obi-Wan Robin
Sep 9, 2009 at 07:29 AM
Another mystery solved!

I did recently use the Disc Clean-Up utility, so that explains that. Thanks for the info.
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